FOR A STRONG AND FIRMLY ANCHORED SAFETY CULTURE
Similar to other safety critical industries, construction is highly regulated, and companies are required to have solid Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) systems in place. However, the sector is quite unique in the challenges it faces in applying these systems to deliver safe working practices with minimal incidents.
With the deployment of contracted personnel across the entire supply chain, tight schedules and limited budgets have meant that the construction industry has one of the highest accident rates by sector despite thorough Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) procedures and good use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Construction companies are increasingly aware of the need to manage their own staff as well as subcontractor personnel associated with their projects. A duty of care exists to ensure work is carried out safely by their own employees and the subcontractors and that all personnel are fully aware of all HSE-related requirements. Recognizing that the industry is highly regulated by safety-related legislation, which is required and important to comply with, we must recognize that it is not enough to avoid accidents from happening.
A strong, and firmly anchored safety culture in an organization is essential for creating a safe work environment, and could be reinforced by considering the following aspects:
- An organization's leadership should apply solid HSE ambitions and goals from planning through to completion of a project.
- Ensuring that individuals have sufficient understanding of the importance of HSE at their workplace and that they know their own responsibility to keep themselves and their colleagues safe.
- HSE should be an important element of any tender process, with suppliers required to demonstrate their compliance with HSE requirements, regulations and audits carried out on their health and safety documentation. The suppliers' safety culture, HSE performance, risk assessments, safety-training and competence programmes should all be taken into consideration.